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Kevin Jones' Steam Index

Journal Institution of Locomotive Engineers
Volume 24 (1934)

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Journal No. 117

Hyde, P.A. (Paper No. 317)
The roller bearing as applied to locomotives and rolling stock. 2-60. Discussion: 60-90. 46 illus./diagrs.
Paper presented in London on 23 November 1933: chaired by Charles Williams.
Noted that the roller bearing concept was very old and was used in Ancient time to roll Cleopatra's Needle in Egypt and on Caligula's pleasure galleys found in Lake Nemi, near Rome (illus. of remains). Mainly as applied to rolling stock: at that time only used on locomotives in USA or on British locomotives for export. Take up was much higher in Sweden, Germany, France and the USA than in Britain.
was not only a survey of experience with roller bearings on passenger and freight vehicles, electric traction motors, etc., but also on the application of roller bearings to locomotives, all helping to make it a very interesting epitome of the modern develop- ment of this type of bearing.
Historically, the anti-friction bearing is of great antiquity. What is possibly the earliest example of the ball bearing extant was made somewhere about the first century in the reign of the Emperor Caligula. A photograph was shown of a ball bearing recovered from the wreck of one of Caligula's pleasure galleys, sunk in Lake Nemi, near Rome, when the lake was de-watered by the order of Signor Mussolini, in order that the gal- leys might be raised and preserved as historical monuments. This bearing is believed to have formed a turntable for a statue, which was re- volved by wind or water power. Since coming across this application, the author has often re- gretted that Caligula was not his chief mechanical engineer, when, many years ago, he was put to much hard labour, turning heavy engines on badly balanced plain bearing turntables.
Among the main points mentioned were that the first really successful attempts to apply the roller bearing to railway service were made by the Swedish and German State Railways and the Pennsylvania R.R. in 1921. By 1922 the Swedish State lines were apparently satisfied with results, as they then ordered a further 1,360 axleboxes, and in this country the Great Northern Railway and the Midland Railway ordered eight and 110 respectively. The G.N. coach is believed to have run some 600,000 miles in fast traffic up to the beginning of 1932.
The Midland train is still in service on the Til- bury line of the L.M.S. When last examined in 1932 the majority of the bearings were in good condition. During this overhaul some of the parallel roller rings which were found to be less satisfactory than those of the spherical type, were replaced. These latter have given very much better results, as during the ten years only three rings have had to be re-placed. Experience with this train had shown that the parallel roller was not sufficiently robust and that the system of press fits on the axle was unsatis- factory, the desirability of having both rings of the spherical self-aligning type was realised, both on account of standardisation, the self-aligning feature and the much greater load carrying cap- acity of the spherical roller. During 1924 the arrangement of carrying the inner races in taper sleeves was introduced, thus permitting applica- tion and removal of the bearings, by the use of hand tools only.
In referring to the Timken taper roller bearing the author pointed out that although the bearing itself is not truly self-aligning, it can be housed in an axlebox of the self-aligning type. Origin- ating as a bearing for motor car work, this has been developed for railway application with marked success, and it is being widely used in the United States for all classes of rolling stock and locomotive bogies. There are some 18,000- 20,000 Timken bearings in service.
In the Hyatt roller bearing the rollers are coiled from steel of rectangular section and have the ap- pearance of a closely wound spiral spring. They are the full length of the journal and run on a hard sleeve carried on the journal, which has no collar, the thrust being taken on a bronze pad on the axlebox cover. Under very heavy loads at slow speeds they give satisfaction. A number of high capacity hopper wagons for the Belgian Railways were fitted with Hyatt bearings some two years ago with success.
In the Ransome and Marles compound ball and roller bearing the load is carried on plain rollers while the thrust is taken by a ball ring. On electric traction motors which are coming into wide use both on electric stock and on Diesel- electric vehicles, the roller bearing is being rapidly standardised for the generator and motor arma- ture shafts. Where roller bearings are used the air gap can be materially reduced, resulting in increased efficiency and elimination of risk of damage to armature windings, caused by wear in plain bearings. Oil leakage, a frequent cause of armature trouble, disappears as grease is used and intervals between greasings are enormously increased. In dealing with the progress in the application
Third Ordinary Genera1 Meeting of  Birmingham Centre held at the Queen’s Hotel, Birmingham, on Wednesday 17 January, 1934, at 19.15 Chaired Captain G. S. Bellamy.
Discussion: H.P.M. Beames (67-8) It is generally known, I think, that we have had a British train touring round America and Canada, the tender of which is fitted with roller bearings, and, so far as I am aware, after 11, 000 miles of very strenuous work in high temperatures and low temperatures no trouble has been caused. I notice thatAbstract of paper in Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1933, 39, 365-6. .

Sams, J.G.B. (Paper No. 316)
Some aspects of a colonial railway running department. 91-113, Disc.: 113-27; 465-6.
Second Ordinary Gcneral Meeting of the Session 1933-34 held in the Hall of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey’s Gate, on Thursday, 26 October 1933, at 6 p.m.; chair being taken by Mr. A.C. Carr, Vice-president
Modernisation of the motive power operation and maintenance on the Kenya & Uganda Railway. Installation of Hollerith punch cards for control, Mitchell coaling plants and modern turntables. W.C. Williams (116-17 and written communication 126-7) noted the mileages achieved on the Kenya & Uganda Railway with Garratt locomotives. E.D. Trask (119) noted that high speeds could be achieved with small diameter driving wheels. L.J. Leclair (116-17). H.M. Le Fleming (written communication 465-6) recorded the high mileages achieved by the L class on the Federated Malay States Railway (Malaysia). Between Gemas and Kuala Lipis the locomotives were working 142 miles out and back and achieved a mileage of 7952 per month.

Shields, T.H. (Paper No. 318)
Steam motive power operation (with special reference to engine loading). 158-229. Disc.: 230-42.
Fourth Ordinary General Meeting of the Institution was held in London at the Institute of Mechanical Itigineers, Storey’s Gate, London, on Thursday, 21 December 1933, at 6 p.m., the chair being taken by the President Major Charles Williams). Author was based in Sutherland when paper was presented.
He considered boiler tractive effort and cylinder tractive effort and train and locomotive resistance. As was to become the characteristic of this Author a great deal of data was assembled together both in terms of routes and in terms of locomotive classes and the loads permitted. Thus there are statistics for the Highland Railway in Table 3 and the Great North of Scotland Railway in Table 5. The locomotive power classifications adopted by the GWR, LMS, LNER (Southern, North Eastern and Scottish - further divided into Northern and Southern Area), the Southern Railway, the Great Southern Railways in Ireland, the Great Northern Railway in Ireland, the German State Railway, the Canadian National Railway and the Pennsylvania Railroad are all listed. H.L. Cole's Rating locomotives is considered observing that his criteria were intended for application under Indian conditions; also considers methods developed by Baldwin Locomotive Co. in USA.
H. Chambers (230-1) commented upon locomotive power classification: "a very difficult subject and requires much consideration" (then commented upon problems with the LMS system); W.C. Williams (232-3); H. Holcroft (232-6) commented on the Aspinall formula for calculating train resistance and noted the problems encountered with freight vehicles. At the meeting in Newcastle C.C. Jarvis (239-40) commented on the Kiesel formula.

Journal No. 118

Renwick, H.P. (Paper 320)
Some observations on locomotive design in its relation to running shed maintenance. 245-73. Disc.: 274-99; 865-83.
The Author read Paper 130 wherein he expressed himself very strongly regarding the limitations of the average Indian mechanic and workman, and having been in charge of a variety of running sheds in India, the opinion then expressed has since been more than strengthened.
2. This Paper is intended to show at least some instances of where the design of parts of locomotives can be and have been altered to meet the limitations of those workmen, and at the same time to reduce running repairs.
3. Running sheds have generally been considered as a very secondary adjunct to the main locomotive workshops, few facilities in the way of high quality machinery and mechanical appliances are available, and it is the intention of the Author to try and show that by improving the equipment in sheds, and so enabling repairs to be carried out more quickly and cheaply, considerable economies can be made and also the failings of the Indian workmen offset.
Indian practice::::’Third Quarterly Meeting of the current Session was held in the hall of the Centre of British Engineering and ‘Transport Institutions, Sarmiento I 236, Buenos Aires, on Friday, 28th September, the chair being taken by the Chairman of the Centre (Mr. J. G. Mayne), when Paper No. 320, “ Some Observations on locomotive Design in its Relation to Running Shed Maintenance,” by Mr. H. P. Renwick, was discussed.

Journal No. 119

Kirkland, R.I. (Paper No. 321)
Locomotive boiler repairs in headquarters shops. 306-37. Disc.: 337-63. 11 diagrams
Fifth Ordinary General JIeeting of the 1933-34 Session held in the Hall of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey’s Gate, London, S.W.I , on Thursday, 25 January, 1934, at 6 p.m., Major Charles Williams, C.B.E., President of the Institution, occupying the chair
The condition of boilers as revealed on examination pnor to the commencement of repair, and to trace each of the defects back to Its origin with the object of enabling a sounder judgement of the ensuing repair to be formed The followeing precis came from Locomotive Mag., 1934, 40, 39
The effect of scale forming and corrosive feed waters on steel surfaces of boilers and on the firebox and stays; defects traceable to rnechanical causes, expansion and contraction of the inner copper firebox relative to the steel casing, etc. The grooving trouble was referred to and stated to usually commence midway up the radius of the plate at the edge of a washout hole, and in the case of larger boilers will often be found to extend from 6 in. to 12 in. after a boiler has been in service for three or four years.
Grooving is also to be found on throat plates at the junction of the vertical and barrel radii. Here again the grooving is due to mechanical action. The method of fixing the boiler rigidly at the smokebox, and allowing the firebox end to move freely in a longitudinal direction, is no doubt to blame for this groovmg, as the stresses due to expansion and contraction localised at thrs point must be considerable.
One of the most frequent causes of shopplng for boiler repairs is small stayheads. The pnncipal cause of small stay heads has been proved to be leakage from the stays themselves. The boiler water, slightly charged with mineral salts, decomposes the protective oxide With which the stay heads are. surrounded. The presence of dirt in large quantities in the water spaces will in time loosen any stays, however good their fit; nevertheless, the better the initial fit of the stays, the longer can the leakage be delayed, and the greater the life between repairs.
Referring to copper tube plates, usually after the second heavy repair, the tubeplate will be found to require renewal. In most cases it is found that while the top portion is unfit for further service the bottom is relatively sound. This is not surpnsing-, as in the first place the direction of the combustion current is directly away from the bottom portion of the plate, and secondly the water space here is easily kept clean. It was claimed that the best type of repair to be given is for a new top half tubeplate to be applied. The only objection to this procedure appears to be the introduction of another seam into the firebox. This seam is, however, protected by the front end of the brick arch, and in actual practice  is not found to give any trouble.
Doorplates, steel door and throat plate patching were very comprehensively dealt with, and very interesting particulars given of the procedure followed in the boiler shop. Barrel patching, bushing of stay holes, etc., were described before Mr. Kirkland detailed the work of fitting new copper fireboxes. .
The adoption of a progresslve system of. repairing calls for the splitting up, of the work into stages at which one or two specific operations are performed, and the tools and equipment for each particular operation are therefore concentrated at definite points in the shop, and the boilers pass from stage to stage progressively. The work at Derby works (L.M.S.R.) had been divided into ten stages. . .
(1) Stripping and examination ..
(2) Cutting off heads and centnng stays.
(3) Drilling stays. .
(4) Breaking down and shelling out stays.
(5) Detail repairs other than new fireboxes.
(6) Hydraulic riveting of foundation and fire- hole rings and smokebox tubeplates.
(7) Stay tapping (side stays only).
(8) Running in stays (side stays only).
(9) Stay riveting.
(10)- Tapping and fitting crown transverse and longitudinal stays. .
Under this system and as a result of the intallation of the tools and equipment which the author described, it has been found possible to reduce greatly the time taken on repairs. The following shows the schedule in operation, covering the grades of repair and the time allowed for their completion.

Briefly, the net result of this organisation has been to effect a great saving in the time of repairs, with a consequent decrease in boiler stocks coupled with a considerable reduction in piece- work prices. .


H. Chambers (337-8) expressed caution on the depth left for plating and objected to term re-rivetting and suggested hammering to clean stays. H. Holcroft (339-40) commented on copper thickness and on Churchward's approach to boiler maintenance..
E.S. Cox (340-1): A certain amount is being heard of copper welding, and I believe that in certain centres this is being pursued actively, although in others it is only being carried out experimentally. It would appear that there are places where this could be used with advantage if the process could be perfected, such as welding up the bridges on a copper tube plate which have cracked, or welding along the seams of an inner copper firebox in the same way as the seams of an outer steel firebox are sometimes welded today. It would be of interest if the Author could say what are the difficulties to be overcome in this method of welding, and what is the present stage of development. 'The Author has said nothing as to the effect of boiler pressure on the repairs to be carried out. It is generally stated that high pressure causes a greater amount of repairs to be necessary than is the case with lower pressures. It is understandable that the cost of such repairs should be higher, in that if a half side has to be replaced it is of a greater thickness in the case of a high pressure bdiler than in the case of a low pressure boiler, but is the amount of wastage of plates and stay heads definitely greater in a high pressure than in a low pressure boiler? By “high pressure” I do not refer so much to extra high pressures. beyond 250lbs., as to a comparison of, say, a 200lb. boiler with a boiler of 160lbs. or 175lbs. pressure. One result of being in close contact with boiler repairs is that it makes it possible to see in actual practice the effect ot certain points in design about which there have been differences of opinion in the past. A case in point is the smokebox tube plate. In many designs a tube plate of the angle-iron type has been put in, rather than the drumhead type, which latter has the advantage of assisting in the interchangeability of boilers between one class and another. It has been stated that the drumhead plate is more likely to give trouble in the root of the flange. Can the Author say if this is a fact, and whether there is anything to choose between the two types of tube plate? A similar case is the design of firehole doors, as to whether there is any thing to choose between the solid ring type and the other type where the two plates are flanged outwards and riveted together.
Meeting at Doncaster (351-6): Sanders (351) spoke about steel stays and high boiler pressures; mentioning the maintenance of Royal Scot boilers at Crewe he stated that the maintenance cost increases enormously with higher pressures and the use of steel stays. Meeting at Birmingham (357-63):H. Chambers (358-9) mentioned door plate flanges and the electric welding of copper stay holes in steel plate. Sanford noted that higher pressures reduced firebox life to three to four years (e.g. on the Royal Scot class).
Sixth Ordinary General Meeting of the North Eastern Centre was held at the Danum Hotel, Doncaster, on Friday, 16 February 1934, at 6.30 p.m., the chair being taken by Mr. Edgar Alcock.
Fourth Ordinary General Meeting of the Birmingham Centre held at the Queen’s Hotel, Wednesday, 28 February 1934, at 6.45 p.m., the chair being taken by Captain G.S. Bellamy.

Tritton, J.S. (Paper No. 322)
Rail cars. 365-401, Disc.: 401-19. 12 illus., 11 diagrs.
Sixth Ordinary General Meeting of the Institution was held in London at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey's Gate, London, on Thursday, 22 February 1934, at 6.0 p.m., the chair being taken by the President, Major Charles Williams
Subdivided topic:
(i) Types of vehicle to meet traffic requirements.
(ii) Power units.
(iii) Types of transmission.
Brief mention was made of Sentinel steam railcars in Jersey (there was pointed reference to the Jersey vehicle weighing 18 tons and carrying 56 passengers, whereas rhe Sentinel cars for the main line railways weighed 30 tons to convey the same number of passengers), but most attention was given to the four-wheel Leyland railcar (diagram: Fig. 7 page 377) and to the Micheline railcars with pneumatic tyres. Consideration was given to streamlining and to transmission systems and to the problems of noise and vibration. H. Holcroft (407-8) was critical of the thin flanges on the Michelin railcars. At the Newcastle meeting on 27 Murch, 1934 the chair being taken by Mr. C.C. Jarvis (411-19) G.W. McArd (412-13) advocated the use of railbuses on the Ponteland branch..

Beckwith, H.G. (Paper No. 319)
Railway workshops organisation. 429-48. Disc.: 448-64.
Paper presented in the Argentine.The last Quarterly Meeting of the 1933 Session was held at the B.A.P. Athletic Club, Saenz Pena, on Friday, 22 December, 1933, when a Paper, presented by Mr. H. G. Beckwith, Member, entitled “ Railway Workshops Organisation,” was discussed. Fifty-seven members and visitors attended. Due to the unavoidable absence of the Chairman, Mr. J. G. Mayne, Mr. R. E. Kimberley kindly undertook to preside at the meeting. With a shade temperature

Journal No. 120

Owen, A.B. (Paper No. 324)
Methods of dealing with engine repairs. 482-91. Disc.: 491-501.
Second Ordinary General Meeting of Birmingham Centre held at Queen's Hotel, Birmingham, on Wednesday, 29 November 1933, at 6.45 p.m., the chair being taken by Captain G. S. Bellamy.
Refers to variations in LMS pre-grouping practice. Topics covered included boiler mountings, copper firebox stays, boiler tubes, superheaters, motion pins and wheels, including tyres and wheel centres, and axles
Sanford: wished that the Author had been able to mention service repairs, as well as general repairs, as the ideal was to so maintain the engines that nothing needed to be done in the running sheds beyond periodical examination and minor adjustments. It would also have been of interest if he had given us some idea of suitable tolerances on the alignment of the frames and on the squareness of the hornblocks for repaired engines. Also what did he consider a suitable tolerance by which a cylinder can be allowed to depart from being truly circular?
With regard to Kirkland’s remarks re the effect of wear in motion, tests have been made on one engine from shopping to shopping and there was remarkably little difference in the fuel consumption throughout these tests. It was actually found that if an engine had new piston and piston valve rings fitted you nearly brought it back to its original condition of efficiency, and the main cause of engine deterioration was the condition of the liners and of the piston valve rings and the main piston rings. The efficiency of the boiler depreciated about 24 per cent. due to scale accumulating. When the motion is run down, you get a lot of vibration and a movement of the reversing shaft and reversing screw, which cause a certain amount of rattle. Thus there is a definite limit to the amount of wear that you can allow in the motion pins, but I would not say that this can be seen in the effect on coal consumption.
We are now using piston heads screwed to the piston rod instead of the usual taper end and nut, the end of the rod being riveted over. How is the head to be changed and the rod again riveted over? At the other end of the rod you have a taper shank which bottoms in the hole. How many times can this be put on and off without the taper shank becoming loose?

Arnold, Conway (Paper No. 325)
Special train braking problems (vacuum brake). 502-20. Disc: 521-5. 8 diagrams
Fourth Ordinar? General Meeting of the Manchester Centre was held in the building of the Manchestar Literary and Philosophical Society, 36, George Street, Manchester, on Friday, 12 January, 1934, at 7.15 p.m., the chair being taken by Mr. J. N. Gresham
To meet any one set of conditions of railway braking, individual design closely approaching idealism might be effected, but to steer a middle course with a standard range of equipment and instruments is a primary necessity in solving the various problems arising from the considerations of train braking. The major problem of the function of fluid brakes centres round the control and manipulation at will of the fluid pressure, which must obey the dictates of the operator with the maximum celerity, generally from a relatibely remote point. In the vacuum brake, the difference in potential actuating the fluid flow is low and the problem, from a practical point of view, correspondingly harder. The local atmospheric pressure is the motive force and the maximum force that can effect charge and discharge is the pressure that corresponds to the working vacuum available, norrnally determined by the vacuum at which the relief valve is set. Thus at 21in. a maximum potential pressure of 10.4lbs. per square inch is available for causing the flow in or out of the. train pipe and no more, which definitely sets a term to the speed of either admission or extraction of the fluid through the limits of an orifice of 3.14 square inches, corresponding to the full bore of a 2in. diameter pipe and the frictional losses through such a pipe and its attendant bends and obstructions
J.N. Gresham (521) noted that the Kenya & Uganda Railway which operated at 9000ft was changing to vacuum brake from air braking.;
R.F. Harvey (521-2) commented on coupling breakages.
K.R.M. Cameron (522) on the question of whether a heavy brake or otherwise should be used on the locomotive, said that he had very little experience of broken couplings, but would imagine that a light brake on the engine would be just as effective as a heavy one when attached to a train. The rolling stock on one railway with which he had had some experience was originally fitted with Westinghouse brakes, but had now been converted to vacuum brakes, the locomotive still being Westinghouse braked and being dual fitted to allow of working trains with either type of brake. This was done by adding a proportional valve to the vacuum ejector, this operating the Westinghouse brake in proportion to the application of the vacuum brake. It was noticed, however, that many of the drivers preferred to shut off this valve, braking being done entirely on the vacuum train brake, yet braking did not seem to commence any earlier than before. The only trouble was that when the train actually came to a standstill the engine was apt to rebound back on to the first coach unless checked by a mild brake application on the engine. This would indicate that a light engine brake is called for, but trouble would arise when the engine was running light and did not possess brakes which were sufficiently powerful. A dual system such as is fitted to the engine mentioned would meet the case, hut the extra cost, complication, and necessary maintenance rules it out, and a compromise must be effected.
I.E. Mercer (522) stated that the Webb steam brake was the "most useless brake ever fitted".
The author in reply to J.W. Caldwell mentioned that the Great Western Railway overcame the difficulty by using a very large ejector and a very large vacuum pump.

Compton, J.N. (Paper No. 326)
The servicing of pooled locomotives, Bhusawal Division, Great Indian Peninsula Railway. 527-87. Disc.: 1936, 26, 276-302.
Sixth Ordinary General Meeting of the Indian and Eastern Centre held at Lucknow (India), on Wednesday 28 February 1934, at 6 p.m., the chair being taken by Mr. J.J.C. Paterson. The Chairman: This is the second Annual//Third Quarterly Meeting of the Session 1935 was held at the Rooms of the Centre in Buenos Aires, on Friday, 20 September 1935. The chair was occupied by the Chairman of the Centre, Mr. O. Steven, who opened a discussion on Paper No. 326, “ The Servicing of Pooled Lccomotives,” read by Mr. J. N. Cornpton, at Lucknow, on 28th February, 1934, and published in Journal No. 120.

Bottomley, J.E. (Paper No. 327)
Welding. 588-610.
First Meeting of the W‘estern Branch of the Indian and Eastern Centre was held at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay, on Monday, the 26th March, 1934, at 6.30 p.m,, the chair being taken by Mr. A. L. Richardson, in the unavoidable absence of Mr. Case.Presented in Bombay

Journal No. 121 (September-October 1934)

Gresley, H.N.
Presidential address. 617-23.
As well as a plea for a locomotive testing station (see below) Gresley mentioned progress on diesel electric high speed railcars in Germany and the USA. Votes of thanks were presented by Maunsell (623-4) and Stanier (624-5).
About six years before French engineers, who were fully alive to the benefits which would be derived by the provision of a testing station, persuaded the French Government to have such a station and just over twelve months ago the French station at Vitry, near Paris, was opened, and the following day he saw one of the largest express passenger engines undergoing tests at over 60 mile/h on full load in the new station. This experimental station is the most perfectly equipped in the world for carrying out analytical and scientific research into the working of that most wonderful yet thermally inefficient machine-the railway locomotive. The station has been described in full detail in the technical press. It is of interest to note that the hydraulic brakes, on the wheels of which the driving wheels of the locomotive under test are carried, and which can be regarded as one .of its most essential features, were of English manufacture. These brakes absorb the whole of the power developed by the locomotive, and are of such substantial design that each is capable of absorbing 1200 hp continuously for long periods. The plant is designed to test locomotives having an axle load up to 30 tons running at all speeds up to 100 mile/h/ Provision is made for six hydraulic brakes, so that locomotives having six driving axles and capable of exerting up to 7200 hp could be tested. There were also four new dynamometer cars fitted with the most modern recording appliances, attached to the station. These were available for use in connection with trials in service on any of the French railways, and can also be used for checking the results of innovations which have been introduced as a result of research in the locomotive experimental station. The total cost incurred in the construction of the station was about £120,000, exclusive of the dynamometer cars.
French railways, since the establishment some years ago of the Office Centrale des Etudes de Material in Paris, have made such pronounced progress in: the design and scientific development of their engines that to-day their modern locomotives are second to none. The engines of the Paris Orleans Railway, for example, have achieved results in the haulage of long-distance high-speed trains of great weight over a severely-graded line which had never been attained by engines of similar weight. In preparing the designs of the new eight-wheel coupled express passenger engine recently constructed at Doncaster, I did not hesitate to incorporate some of the outstanding features of the Paris Orleans engine, such as the provision of extra large steam passages and a double blast-pipe. There was no real novelty in these features, but the French engineers had worked out the designs scientifically and had proved them by the results obtained in actual service. The double blast-pipe has two nozzles, each 5¾ins. in diameter, whereas the usual single blast-pipe has one nozzle of about 5¼ins. diameter. The result is that the back pressure on the pistons is reduced from about 7 or 8Ibs. per square inch to only about 2lbs. when running at speed. The establishment of the great new experimental testing station at Vitry is evidence of the confidence and conviction of the French engineers that progress can only be secured by full and complete research.
What have we here in England? A small locomotive testing plant of 500 hp capacity, installed at the Swindon works of the Great Western Railway thirty years ago by Churchward, whose tragic death last year we all deplore. He was without doubt one of the most eminent railway engineers of recent times, and we see evidence of his influence in the designs of the most up-to-date engines of each of the great railways of this country. The Swindon plant is, however, much too small for modern locomotives. There are four dynamometer cars in existence on British Railways, all of which he regarded as almost obsolete when compared with modern cars.
Before concluding my address, it is appropriate to refer to the tendency to-day towards the speeding up of all trains, and to make some reference to the extra high-speed passenger trains which have recently been introduced abroad. In this matter Germany has taken the lead. In France a similar service has been started on the Nord, between Paris and Lille, and Bugatti cars are running on the Etat and PLM. In Holland and Belgium a number of Diesel-electric high-speed units are working, but the speeds attained are not so great as in Germany. On the other hand, it is claimed in the United States that even higher speeds, up to 112 m.p.h. have been reached.
The question is naturally asked, why has nothing been done here beyond speeding up the existing steam-operated trains? The answer, of course, is the difficulty in finding on our congested railways a path for trains of such exceptional speeds. The permanent way of the British railways is well known to be the most perfect in the world, as is also the method of signalling, and there is no question that trains of the highest speed contemplated can be run with safety and comfort on our railways.
It is not suggested that speeds much in excess of 100 m.p.h. can economically be maintained. The air resistance, notwithstanding scientific streamlining, absorbs so much power. Experiments with models of existing types of coaches carried out by the National Physical Laboratory show that the air resistance of trains of average length, say twelve coaches, at 100 m.p.h., is approximately double that of similar trains at 70 m.p.h. In the case of the " Flying Hamburger," in which I recently travelled, it is calculated that 85 per cent. of the power generated by the Diesel engines is absorbed in air resistance when running at 100 m.p.h. Streamlining is essential at extra high speeds because air resistance of trains increases approximately as the cube of the speed, but it is of comparatively negligible value at lower speeds, up to, say, 50 m.p.h. I think that the day is not far distant when heavy trains consisting of one class only will be run at speeds not less than the best speeds of to-day, and that short extra high-speed trains, for which a supplement will be charged, will be run between London and the big industrial centres. The steam locomotive, however, of greatly improved efficiency, as a result of the establishment of a locomotive experimental station, will still continue as the chief power unit operating on our railways. Votes of thanks by Maunsell and Stanier add to the interest of this paper.

Moon, A.N. (Paper No. 328)
One hundred years of railway coaches. 626-52. Disc. 652-75. 24 illus.
Fifth Ordinary General Meeting of the Birmingham Centre was held at the Queen’s Hotel, Birmingham, on Wednesday, 28 March 1934, at 6.45 p.m., the chair being taken by Capt. G. S. Bellamy.
History of passenger rolling stock, including the influence of earlier road vehicles, such as stage coaches. Illustrated by a rich collection of pictures from early Manchester and Leeds Railway third (fully open) and second (enclosed) vehicles, via Pullman cars to the all metal electric multiple units used on the Manchester to Bury line to the exteriors and interiors of Stanier corridor vehicles. Not restricted to LMS vehicles as an early GNR articulated vehicle is included, as well as vehicles for the London Underground and for export.
The following abstract appeared in Locomotive Mag., 1934, 40, 119: At the meeting held on the 15 March. a paper with the above title was read by A.N. Moon Assoc. Member. The president, Major C.E. Williams, O.B.E., occupied the chair and a large number of members were present. The author of the paper introduced his subject with a reference to the early history of wheels and wheeled vehicles prior to the advent of the locomotive. He then gave on the screen a reproduction of a well known illustration of trains on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway describing many of the outstanding features in these. Following up the evolution of the railway carriage, Moon showed a number of different attempts at improvement in accommodation introduced be- tween 1840 and 1870 including an early smoking saloon for the Eastern Counties Railway and a mail coach for the London and Birmingham Ry. The comforts of third class travellers must have been very limited judging from the illustration of such a carriage built for the Manchester and Leeds Railway. Great advance was made m the years immediately following 1870.
By 1872 the Midland Railway's third class compartment had been increased in size to 6 ft., the first class being 7 ft. 3 in. and in the following three years the second class was abolished. The third class was then further improved by the provision of cushioned seats and backs. One oil lamp still did duty for two compartments, however, the partition being cut to accommodate the introduction of the roof lamp.
First class sleeping cars of the transverse berth pattern now familiar, were introduced in 1873 on the orth Eastern Railway, arousing some criticism at the time. Sleeping cars of the Pullman Car Co. of America commenced running in the following year on the Midland Railway, presumably fitted with the American type of longitudinal berth; these cars ran until 1888. The Pullman Company not only ran sleeping cars but "parlour" or "drawing-room" cars on the Midland Railway. They were all introduced at the same time, 1874, and constituted an important step forward, for they were the first bogie coaches run in this country. Midland drawing-room car No. 8 was shown, probably one of the 1874 importation and almost certainly of the same type. The bogie for locomotives was an English invention, being patented in 1812 by William Chapman, a locomotive builder, but it was not used in this country for passenger stock until after Ross Winans had applied it to such vehicles in America. Locomotives were first mounted on bogies in England in 1833. The bogies on the Pullman car illustrated seem to have had a composite wood and iron framework and to have been similar in general features to modern American and Continental practice. The mtenor of this "drawing-room" car was illustrated. The traveller sat on a swivel chair beside what must then have seemed an embarrassing expanse of glass window. These open saloon coaches were not received with great favour by the conservative British public, who preferred the additional privacy of the old type of compartment stock. The Midland Railway were quick to see the advantage of the bogie and built bogiie coaches of their own. There is a drawing m existence at Derby dated 1874 and showing what must have been a very early attempt at a carriage bogie design. The rivalry which existed between this railway and the London and North Western prevented the latter from adopting the bogie. Instead, in 1882, they produced their first coaches with radial wheels. These carrages were 42 ft. long mounted on six wheels, of which one pair was arranged to swivel so as to take up a more or less normal position on a curve. Eventually this railway adopted bogies.
The author's reference to the introduction of continuous brakes on the British railways was followed with interest especially the mention of Barker's hydraulic system on the old Great Eastern Railway. Further, the cord communication in use before the introduction of the present alarm signal apparatus awakened memories of a device which seldom worked when called upon. Tram lighting contributed to the very comprehensive contents of Moon's paper as also did train warming. Finally, a number of recent examples of metal construction were thrown on the screen and the chief features explained.
In the discussion which followed, the magnificent examples of private cars used bv Indian princes were mentioned and several speakers contributed items to the interesting historical details recorded in Moon's paper especially on the extended use of six-wheeled carriages with radial wheel bases
A.M. Bell (653-5) The President, in saying that the correct term for a railway carriage is ‘‘coach,” has touched me on what has always been a sore point. When I first \isited America, many years ago, I was impressed by the appearance of the straight-sided cars there, and later, when I went to India in 1904, they were just starting on a big programme of new rolling stock, a result of Lord Curzon’s progressive government, and it became my job to start carriage construction. Three private carriages intended for officers’ use were actually building with real “bellied” sides, whereas all the old stock on the G.I.P. Railway was straight. I set to work at once to alter the three, put on false pieces to the side pillars and made the sides straight. Now I flatter myself I did my bit to secure straight sides for all Indian carriages; the Railway Board adapted the principle as standard.
With regard to putting luggage on the roof, those who have been to the Royal Academy recently must have seen Frith’s famous picture, "The Railway Station,” dated 1862, and have noticed that the staff are putting nearly all the luggage on the roof of a carriage, so that the Great Western Railway must have maintained that practice until a much later date than that the Author mentions. I remember seeing railings round the roofs of carriages on the G.N.R., although I cannot say I actually saw luggage put there.
The Author does not mention the Great Western Railway in connection with sleeping cars. I believe my old chief, Mr. Jas. Holden, designed the first sleeping car put on the Great M’estern broad gauge between Paddington and Penzance. I think it was a six-wheeler. It had no vestibule connections, but it had two lavatories.
Another interesting item mentioned is brakes, and the Author tells us that at one time Barker’s hydraulic brake was in use on the old Great Eastern Railway. In the early day, as a matter of fact, that railway had many different continuous brakes in use; the Liverpool Street and Loughton trains had Westinghouse, the Chingford vacuum, the Palace Gates chain and the Enfield hydraulic! The hydraulic brake was not automatic on the local trains, but . for the continental express one train and two engines to work it, were fitted up with automatic hydraulic brakes. The engines were Sinclair single-wheelers. The pump forced salt water into a spring-loaded chamber, and in this case the brake was automatic; if the pipes failed or anything happened to the apparatus the water escaped and the brakes were applied by the springs.
Regarding coal gas and oil gas, I suppose the Great Western installed coal gas when they operated the Metropolitan Railway with broad gauge trains. I well remember the narrow gauge Metropolitan train with the gas bags on the roof. On the North London Railway they had a very good arrangement, the gas bags being installed in what looked like ordinary brake vans; the lighting was considered, at the time, very good indeed. In later years I visited Australia, and was surprised to find that they were pumping coal gas into the trains and not oil gas. With the introduction of the incandescent burner the necessity for oil gas practically ceased. Wlien I got back to Bombay I tried it, and pumped coal gas into a train and found it quite satisfactory with incandescent burners ; we could not follow it up, however, as the gasworks would have to be converted and electric lighting was coming into use.
In India there is plenty of experience to be obtained in the construction of special vehicles of all kinds, for the maharajahs and princes spend thousands of pounds on them. An interesting special race train was built by the G.I.P. Rly. to run from Bombay to Poona. In it was incorporated a bogie van 62 feet long consisting wholly of dressing-rooms, lavatories and a bath. The latter was much talked about but seldom if ever used. A little later, at the Milan Exhibition, I saw a very fine train, the front vehicle of which was a lavatory car. Special carriages in India for native rulers are, I think, more lavishly fitted and furnished than in any part of the world and are very comfortable.
So far as the cord communication is concerned, I remember that in the old days on the Great Eastern Railway the cord was first attached to a gong at the side of the tender that never worked, then it was hooked on to the whistle cord in the cab of the locomotive. On the Great Northern, I believe, the cord was attached to the vacuum brake Iever, so that when it was pulled it applied steam to the ejector of the simple vacuum brake. On the G.E.R., at stations at which engines were changed, a porter came up with a roll of cord and handed the end to the driver, if it was a fine night we attached it to the whistle cord, but if it was windy we did not, because directly we got away from the station, if there was a cross wind blowing, it blew the cord out, lightened it up and the whistle would be going the whole time, so it was usually detached and hung up. The cord method of communication was a complete farce, because it never seemed to work when it was wanted.
R.G. MacIver (655) Being associated with a company who are successors to a firm of coach builders, not railway carriage builders, and who were connected with the supply of furnishings and fittings as long ago as 1869, I had high hopes of being able to bring some samples of the early equipment of Victorian times here to-night ; but, unfortunately, the only thing that could be found at the works was a foot warmer which weighs about 65lbs., so I decided to leave it behind! I have with me, however, one of the candle lanterns of which the author has spoken—a vade mecum for travellers in thc. early days—which the passenger used to hang on the upholstery at the back of his seat to afford him some light by which to read. The owner of this died in 1874, and I know it was in fairly constant use. I have also a photograph here of an early carriage, which is marked “The oldest railway carriage in England,” and which was used on the Bodmin and Wadebridge line in Cornwall. It has been hanging in our office, but how or when this legend was put on the photograph I cannot say.
G.H. Bailey (655-8: An examination of the details of the Paper must give us somewhat of a shock; it is of no use sitting down complacently thinking that we can be satisfied with what has been done, for, although progress has been made, nevertheless, as the Author puts it, invention has been much ahead of use. Men of vision existed, but they could not get the necessary backing to achieve the results urhich might have been obtained, and until the present century progress was slow. For the last twenty years there has been an improvement, and at the present time progress is being made rapidly.
The author has referred to the barrel type of coach construction being invented in 1840, and you cannot take up any railway periodical now without seeing something about streamlining. I appreciate that a coach of barrel shape is not properly streamlined, but with the introduction of steel or other metal construction, which is bound to come, and with increased speed, which brings with it the desirability of streamlining, we may have something similar to the barrel-shaped car.
The Author tells us that in 1854 a patent was taken out for an iron car. Very slow progress was made, and it was not until 1909 that the steel coach to which he refers was built for the Buenos Aires Midland Railway, and the all-metal cars for the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton tube, a few years before. The adoption of metal coaches in this Country has been very slow, but I venture to think we shall see more rapid progress in the near future. It was in 1874 that the first bogie coaches were put into operation in this Country, and yet in 1844 one Joseph Wright took out a very comprehensive patent lor bogies and bogie vehicles. Joseph Wright was the founder of the works at Saltley which form part of what is now the Metropolitan Cammell Company. I have with me a copy of that 1844 patent specification and we cannot obtain patents nowadays which give us so much protection as he was able to get. He shows a car about 90 feet long, provides for truss construction, and four-, six- or eight-wheel bogies. He goes on to deal with springs: he has laminated springs with the lower plates cambered less than the upper plates so as to deal with progressive loading, which is now a feature of modern motor cars and has also been introduced to a certain extent for railway work. He deals with spokcd wheels with a glutting iron identical with that which has been used down to recent days. That patent was taken out in 1844, yet it took thirty years to get a bogie vehicle onto to an English railway!
I mention those few points to show that men of vision did exist, yet the progress which should have been made was not made. It is interesting to read of the past, and it may be helpful to study what has been done if from it we learn how to build for the future. Either the next ten years will show enormous developments in rolling stock construction or the railways will lose much of their traffic. They are now faced with air and road competition. How are the railways going to meet it? They are doing a great deal, and we have many men of vision to-day in charge of British and other railways, who are endeavouring to solve what is a very urgent problem.
We have entered on another stage of development. Some suburban services are being dealt with in an admirable manner by electrification, and the London Electric Rail\vays have made very rapid progress and are making more. 'I'he main line railways have an entirely different problem to face; they have to find out how to deal with fast long distance traffic and yet cater for the intermediate stations. 'The Flying Hamburger type of train alone is not going to bring prosperity to the thousands of miles of railway line in Britain. Development may have to take place with light-weight, high-speed, self-contained units running between fast long distance trains. These may be single or articulated units, and in all probability they will carry their own concentrated power, that is, they will have some light form of power generation,
A.H. Whitaker (658) 'The Author refers to the two metal coaches which were introduced on the old Midland Railway in 1874, and I think I can help him with regard to them. Living near me in Bath is my father, who joined the Midland Railway in 1860 and is, I suppose, the oldest retired railway officer still living. I am glad to say he is in possession of an excellent memory. He has often told me about these coaches on the Midland Railway, but I understood him to say that they were of German, not of Belgian, origin. They went by the name of "sardine boxes". (Mr. Whitaker's subsequcnt communication shows that these coaches were built in 1870 or 1871 at Frankfort-on-Maine and were upholstered in crimson plush.)
'The Author has referred to rails on the top of coaches. Even I am venerable enough to remember those, though not in use. In 1889 I can remember as a boy seeing on the old Somerset and Dorset Railway some of these old coaches with luggage rails round the roof stored in sidings and waiting to be broken up. With regard to lighting, I can remember the Tortell system of lighting on the Un'derground. There was a little electric light at the back of your seat, and you put a penny in the slot.
J.W. Beaumont (658-9) There is one thing in the Paper which has rather puzzled me, and that is the Author's reference to the use of radial axleboxes on the L.N.W.R. I am going back to my earliest railway recollections, but I think that the radial axlebox was first used by  F.W. Webb for the leading wheels of his compound engines. Very shortly after that he extended the idea to the railway coach, but the coaches which he fitted with these axleboxes had eight wheels, not six; the two inner pairs were on rigid axleboxes and the two outer were carried between radial slides in which the axles and boxes were free to move laterally, controlled by a central spring. 'They were most uncomfortable vehicles to ride in, and never have I been more glad to get to my destination than once when I travelled in one at the very back of a train. At the same timc bogie coaches were certainly being used on the L.N.W.R..,and in fact I think a coach having a bogie was built before the radial coach. It was freely said that  F.W. Webb , who was generally a law unto himself, would not use a bogie on a locomotive because other people used it, but I do not think that is ,doing my old chief justice. In the case of the early compounds there was no more weight on the front of the engine than could be carried on one axle and he devised the radial box as a less expensive way of reducing the rigid wheel base than the bogie. Ten years later, when he brought out his four-cylinder compounds, with much more weight at the forward end, he did use a bogie, showing that he was perfectly willing to use one where necessary. With regard to the coaches with radial axleboxes, however, I think they were all eight-wheel vehicles, built in the manner I have described, and 42 feet long, and they were contemporaneous with the early bogie coaches on the L.N.W.R.

Mailer, J. (Paper No. 329)
Waste, its elimination, reclamation of scrap material and its influence on design. 679-705. Disc.: 705-20.
Argentinian  paper: meeting at Alta Cordoba, on 8 June 1934. 110 members and visitors being present. The members left Buenos Aires at 4.0 p.m. on the 7th June by special train composed of brake van, dining car, kitchen car, seven sleeping cars and observation coach, kindly placed at their disposition by the General Manager of the C6rdoba Central Railway, D.M. MacRae. Alta C6rdoba was reached at 7.50 a.m. on the 8th, when the visitors from Buenos Aires were joined by 30 members of the Central Argentine Railway who had travelled overnight from Rosario. After the meeting, which took place in the Railway Institution, a vote of thanks to the Author and to the General Manager of the C6rdoba Central Railway for the facilities placed at the disposition of the Institution was accorded. The Chairman (Mr. J. G. Mayne) introduced Mr. J. Mailer, who submitted his Paper entitled “ Waste, its Elimination, Reclamation of Scrap Material and its Influence on Design,” which was discussed by the members. After the discussion the party inspected the C6rdoba Central Workshops and also a complete collection of the articles made from scrap material, as mentioned in the Paper. The members left Alta C6rdoba on the return journey at 8.0 p.ni., arriving at Buenos Aires on the 9th June at 11.30 a.m. The train, consisting of 44 axles, was hauled by a 4-6-2 type locomotive, No. 2073, burning coal, which ran through to destination, a distance of 724 kilometres-a very creditable performance.

Griffiths, S.
Connecting rod ends. 721-34.
The 21st Ordinary General Meeting of the Centre was held at thc Railway Institute, Perth, on Tuesday, the 22 August 1933, at 8 p.m., the chair being `taken by R.N. Johnston. 'Hie Minutes of the Meeting held on the 25th of July, 1933, wcre read, approved, and signed as correct. T'he Chairman then introduced hlr. S. Griffiths, who opencd a discussion on " Connecting Rod Ends Discussion meeting held in Perth, Australia, introduced by S. Griffiths.

Blackwood, G.W.
Crank pins. 735-43.
Discussion meeting held in Perth, Australia on 31 October, 1933, introduced by G.W. Blackwood.

Journal No. 122

Collins, G.H.H. (Paper No. 330)
The manufacture and repair of locomotive boiler tubes. 748-72. Disc.: 772-84.
The Second Ordinary General Mcseting of the 1934-5 Session was held in the hall of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey’s Gate, on Thursday, 25 October, 1934, at 6 p.m., Mr. H.N. Gresley, President, occupying the chair
Gresley (772-4) cautioned that he was much more familiar with tubes from the point of view of their use. All locomotive engmeers are greatly indebted to the manufacturers for the perfection to which they have brought the tubes of to-day. I remember the old steel tubes which were used many years ago, and which were very different from the tubes supplied at the present time, So great has been the improvement in steel tubes I do not know whether any manufacturers of copper tubes are present—that copper tubes seem to have entirely disappeared from English railways, notwithstanding the fact that copper has reached a lower price to-day than it has fetched for many years.
In the matter of the repair of tubes, a small point which has interested me is concerned with the flue tubes on the Great Western Railway. The Author has stated that when these were taken out they had the screwed portion at the end removed, and that this could happen three times before the end of the tube was, as it were, closed up again to form a new portion which might be screwed. My own experience is that when a screwed tube has had three runs in the boiler it is not worth the expense of doing any more to it, as it is so much pitted, even in districts where the water is pure and there is no scale. In fact, for a tube to go more than three times is a very rare thing. Some people, I am well aware, go to the expense of filling up these small pit holes electrically, but I consider that the labour and the cost—unless there are only a few odd holes here and there—do not represent money well spent, and it is better to scrap the tube and have a new one of which the engineer is perfectly sure.
The Author has also referred to the stretching of ordinary boiler tubes, This practice has been introduced by the Great Western Railway and has been a very good one indeed. I myself have copied it, as I have copied many Great Western Railway practices. I remember an occasion when I went down to see the works at Swindon and got Mr. Churchward to lend me the drawings so that I could make a stretching bench for myself. Now, however, I consider that the stretching method is not the best one; the cutting off of the ends, and the flash welding of a new end is the cheapest and most effective practice to-day.;
Fowler (not Sir Henry) got the impression that the repairing of locomotive bailers was a very camplicated job. It seemed that if the boiler was fabricated solely by welding, it would much simpler to repair by cutting with an oxy-acetylene blow-lamp and inserting a new piece welded with the electric arc, by which one can obtain a joint, the ductility of which is better than the ductility of a riveted joint, both in the longitudinal and transverse senses. A butt welded joint stands up to fatigue much better than a riveted joint and it has higher efficiency so far as tensile properties are concerned. For thase reasons, he could not understand why locomotive engineers persisted in fabricating boilers by riveting, when numbers of high pressure boilers for other than locomotive work are welded.
H. Holcroft The cost of locomotive boiler repairs was one of the main items in the upkeep of locomotives, and anything that can be dane to. minimise it is greatly to be desired. The Authar describes up-to-date shop methods by which this can be accomplished, and he has evidently made a great deal of progress; but it is of little avail to have good organisation unless the bailer is taken. care of in service. The locomotive shed staffs can do a great deal towards this, and so can the drivers and firemen in the handling of their engines; but they cannot do everything if the design is not right in the first place.
Early in his Paper, the Author stated :-" The thickness of copper through which the heat has to be conducted is increased from 9/16in. to 13/16in., and the heat transference is further impeded by a.coating of scale on the water side. The heat conductivity of metals, and of copper in particular, is so. great that there is only a difference in temperature af a few degrees between the fire side and the water side of the plate. It is true that scale increases the temperature somewhat, particularly when it gets 1/8in. or less thickness, but I believe that a great deal of over-heating is simply due to the fact that there is no "solid" here to conduct the heat away. In other words, a great deal of attention must be paid to the circulation of water in the boiler when the design is got out. I remember that when I was at Swindon the late Mr. Churchward attached great importance to this point, and always made sure there was plenty of area at the bottom and sides of the boiler for the water to pass freely along and fill up the front water leg. He increased the width of the tube to give plenty of room between the tubes which were were imported from Sweden: he had visited the works in 1912-13 to study their methods. All steel supplied for locomotive tubes was known as "rimming" steel which was cleverly arranged that the blow holes were situated in such a part of the ingot that when formed into a billet and made into a finished tube they were midway between the inner and outer tube. The late Dr. Stead, of Middlesbrough and others made exhaustive experiments and found these blow: holes are completely welded up. During WW1 Messrs. Steel Peech and Tozer were able to produce this steel in Britain.. H. Chambers (775) noted that the worst problem with pitting or necking occurs near to the copper tube plate. Two theories have been promulgated: the first is due to the effects of expansion where the finish scale is broken away leading to corrosion; or is due to electrolytic action where the tube is close to the copper tube play. He also wondered if beaded tubes were worth the extra expense. J.A. Richards (775) commented on the composition of the steel used for tube manufacture: it needed to have a very low phosphorus and sulphur contents. J. Clayton, (776) noted that tube manufacture should be standardized and that one of the Southern Railway works still stretched tubes, and that tube stretching was extremely useful during WW1.. R.H. Whitelegg (777-8); T. Henry Turner (779-80) on zinc attack; K. Cantlie (780-2) experience in countries other than Britain.

Wells, G.M. (Paper No. 331)
Modern machine shop methods and equipment. 785-824. Disc.: 824-5. 22 illus/diagrs.
Eighth Ordinary General Meeting of the 1933-34 Session held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, on Thursday, 12 April 1934, at 6 p.m., Major Charles Williams, C.B.E., President of the Institution, occupying the chair.
Fourth Ordinary General Meeting of the Newcastle Centre held at the Royal Station Hotel, Newastlc, on Tuesday, 30 January 1934, at 7.30 p.m., the chair being taken by Mr. C.C. Jarvis.
The need for improved methods of producing flat surfaces which prior to the early 19th century had to be laboriously chipped and filed called into being the family of reciprocating machines, the planer, shaper and slotter. In effect, the planing machine is a development and an inversion of the slide rest. Matthew Murray, of Leeds, is said to have built one in 1814, to plane the surfaces of Watt’s D slide valves, whilst claims have been advanced by about half-a-dozen other men for having invented and built planing machines, independently, at that period. A direct descendant of the planer is the shaping machine, invented by Nasmyth in the early 1830s and first known as Nasmyth’s steam arm..

Hoare, G.E. (Paper 332)
Tool room practice in the central locomotive works, Moghalpura. 826-57. Disc.: 857-64. 13 diagrs.
First Ordinary General hleeting of the Northern Section of the Indian and Eastern Centre was held at Delhi, on Saturday, 27 January 1934, the chair being taken by Mr. H. Jackson.
North Western Railway Workshops where toolmaking was examined in the following order :-
(i) hardening of carbon tool steel.
(ii) heat treatmcnt of high speed steel tool tipping and the economies effected thereby.
(iii) case hardening.
(iv) jigs and fixture.
(v) gauges.